Blackberry Winter
by malika-azrael
Summary: Eiri has known Shuichi since childhood but because of some accident he forgets him and thinks that Kitazawa Yuki is his first love. What will Shuichi do when he meet Eiri again? Will Eiri regain his memory of him?
1. Chapter I

** Blackberry Winter**

Chapter I

_ The snow flakes fell endlessly to the snow covered ground. The cold December wind blew and the thirteen years old Uesugi Eiri nabbed his coat tightly around him. _

_ He just went to the temple to help his father and now he was in his way home. As he walked past the park which separated the temple and his house he saw a few children making snowmen and pelting each other with snowballs._

_ He stopped for a moment to watch them. And a gleam of jealousy entered his eyes. He wanted to play with them too...but..._

_ "Looks fun," someone said._

_ Eiri turned to the source of the voice and saw a kid standing not far away from him. He couldn't be older that nine years old and wore an expensive looking black coat, matching his black hair._

_ Eiri never seen this kid before, so maybe he was the child's of the temple's visitor. He was about to leave when the kid called him. "Hey you!"_

_ He ignored it but the voice grew louder by any seconds. _

_ Eiri finally stopped. "You called me?" he asked in a disbelief tone. This was normal since no one ever called him before._

_ "Yes! You! I'm talking to you. Come here! Quick!" the kid waved his hand vehemently. "Quick!"_

_ Eiri hesitantly walked towards him and as the distance between them shortened he could see the kid had amethyst eyes that were too big for his face._

_ "What is your name?" the kid asked as soon as Eiri reached him._

_ "Eh?" Eiri was stunned for a few seconds. He never met a kid as bold and as energetic like this before. "Eiri...Uesugi Eiri."_

_ "Eiri...hmm...I will call you E-chan, okay? I'm Shuichi you can call me Shu-chan though." Shuichi grinned widely. _

_ "Err...why you called me?"_

_ "Oh! I almost forgot. I want ask you to make a snowman with me." Shuichi answered._

_ "Snowman?"_

_ "Yes." Shuichi nodded. "Like what they are doing now." He pointed to the children in the park._

_ "I can't," Eiri said, hung his head low. "I never make one." His words were barely heard._

_ "Eh?" Shuichi looked surprised. "Why?"_

_ "... Nobody wants to play with me."_

_ "Why?"_

_ Eiri felt annoyed. Why the kid kept asking like and didn't stop. "Why! Are you blind?" he snapped angrily. "Look at me! Green eyes, blond hair. I don't look like Japanese. I'm different. I'm a weirdo!" he already blurted out everything before he could control it. It's just that... Eiri didn't know why...there was a strange aura or something like that around the kid...which made Eiri drawn to him in the first place. How stupid. What could the six years old kid know? But as he looked at Shuichi he was surprised._

_ Shuichi was staring at him seriously. "I don't think so Eiri," he said quietly._

_ Eiri didn't miss the using of his given name. _

_ "This blond hair..." Shuichi reached up to brush Eiri's bangs that covered his eyes. "These beautiful green eyes...are the gift to you... you should thanks God for that...so never ever have a thinking like that anymore..."_

_ Eiri stunned, he stared back at Shuichi and in his amethyst eyes he could the sincerity there. But how a mere kid could be so wise?_

_ Shuichi blinked, "That's what my Mom always says. You know...about my eyes..." he grinned sheepishly. "I bet Mother can say it better than me...she is really clever you know..." _

_ This kid really confused him._

_ "SHUICHI!" a voice interrupted. _

_ Both of them turned. There were a middle aged man and a beautiful girl walking toward them. Eiri recognized the man as Asakura Kenji, he often came to the temple and was one of the temple's regular visitors. But what was his connection with Shuichi?_

_ "Eiri." The girl called him._

_ "Aneki, Asakura-san." He greeted them._

_ "Uncle!" Shuichi ran to him._

_ "Nice to meet you Eiri," he said then turned to Shuichi. "You made me worry. I thought you're lost so I asked Mika's help to search you," Asakura explained._

_ "Mika?" Shuichi had a questioned look on his face._

_ "She is my sister, Mika." Eiri introduced her._

_ "Hmm...Mika...so it's going to be Mi-chan then!" He exclaimed._

_ Mika smiled. She obviously liked the cheerful kid, Eiri never seen his strict sister agreed to be called with a pet name. "And what is your name?" she asked._

_ "I'm Shuichi but call me Shu-chan."_

_ Asakura sighed. "My nephew has a habit to make a pet name for everyone...including me...sadly..." although his tone showed that he felt the opposite._

_ "Yeah, do you want to know what my uncle- Hmph!"_

_ Asakura put his hand to cover Shuichi's mouth. "I don't think they want to know about that Shuichi," he hurriedly said._

_ "On the contrary Asakura-san, I would love to know about it," Mika also joined to tease the poor man._

_ "You see that Uncle?" Shuichi asked, after he was set free._

_ Asakura let out the laugh. "Kids nowadays..." he shook his head. "I think we must go home Shuichi before your mother scold us."_

_ Shuichi nodded then turned to Eiri. "I must go home now but I will come tomorrow and we will make snowman together."_

_ Eiri nodded._

_ Asakura grabbed Shuichi's hand. "Well then, excuse us Mika...Eiri..."_

_ "Bye E-chan! Bye Mi-chan! I will come to play tomorrow! Just wait for me!"_


	2. Chapter II

** Blackberry Winter**

Chapter II

_ White...White in everywhere..._

_ The boy glanced around him...the pine trees were covered in snow...the park was empty and two lone snowmen stood arrogantly in the pure white ground. Why was he here? The boy asked himself. What was he doing? Why he was alone? Where was the other? Where...?_

Yuki Eiri woke up with a start. _What was that? _A weird dream... all he could remember was white...white in everywhere...the rest of the dream was blur. But being the rational person he was, he quickly dismissed the dream.

He got out from the bed and walked outside, glancing at his phone he could guessed he already had a calls. Surely it was true; the calls were from his sister, demanding to talk about their family matter. Mostly consisted of when you're going back to Kyoto and when you're going to marry Ayaka.

Yuki almost sighed, almost. Ayaka Usami...Yuki had known her since childhood. She was now a beautiful young woman and there had been some speculation between their families as to whether they intended to marry. Yuki had to admit that Ayaka was suitable in everyway and would make an admirable wife for him, as she had been at pains to let him realize. But so far he had remained friend and nothing more. Their engagement was decided by their family though.

He only listened half of the first message before turned it off. There was no use in listening that. And now he had to go to the workshop to take his car. His Mercedes had been in the workshop for one week all thanks to his _beloved_ little bother. Tatsuha had secretly tried to drive his car and accidentally crashed into the wall. He had lectured him for a _good _five hours.

One week without car already made him suffer, so you could imagine how upset Yuki was when he came to the workshop and the mechanic there only said, "I'm so sorry Eiri-san but the damage is more serious than I thought before so please come back few days again."

Yuki nodded, silently cursing Tatsuha under his breath.

It was dark outside and Yuki chose to walk through the park, wondering about what had happened today. First was a weird dream then calls from annoying sister and the last a broken car. All in one day. Great...just great...Just what was going to happen next? Life couldn't be worse than it, could it?

Little did Yuki know, fate did have a cruel sense of humor.

A piece of paper flew into his face and fell to the ground. He picked it up. It was a song lyric, written in scrabble. Barely read though.

"Hey!"

He looked at the coming boy; he was a teenager with big amethyst eyes and pink hair. Pink hair...just what was wrong with the teenager nowadays?

"That is mine," the teenage said.

Yuki scanned the paper, "did you write it?"

"Uhm...well...yeah..." he answered hesitantly.

"It's below the level of a grade school student. You're making such a big deal over one strong sentence. Do you think this grade of love song writing would even sell? Give up, you have zero ability..."

The teenage opened his mouth – as if to argue back – but no sound came out. Obviously he was too shock to say or to do something.

Yuki didn't know why he made such a comment but he couldn't help it, reality was hash... and he had learned it hard way a long time ago.

Shuichi was still grumbling when he entered his favorite bookstore. "That damn bastard. _Zero talent. _Just who he thinks he is?" he muttered darkly, remembering the incident few hours ago. He was still upset that the stranger gave him such an insulting comment with such arrogant face. From his appearance, he first thought the man was a foreigner with golden eyes and blond hair. The thinking instantly reminded him of someone else, someone very dear to him... also someone he lost long time ago...

"Hey Shindou-kun!"

The voice brought him out of his reverie, he turned and smiled enthusiastically. "Amano-san."

Amano was the owner of the book store and since Shuichi was the regular customer they had known each other.

"Anything new?" Shuichi asked, walking toward the counter.

"No, the magazine will come out few days again."

"Ooo..." However his attention moved as he heard a noisy voice. "Huh? What is that?" Shuichi pointed to the corner, where he could see bunch of women and girls gathered.

"Ooh, that's the release of Yuki Eiri's new novel."

"Yuki Eiri?" he asked, puzzled.

"The most popular novelist now, his bestseller novels are always sold out," Amano answered proudly.

"Yeah right, good for you..." he said rather sarcastically but low enough that Amano didn't hear it.

"Maybe you should try to read it," Amano suggested, giving the novel to him.

Shuichi scowled but took it too, hesitantly of course. "What is so good about this? Even Maiko like this kind of novel too..." he looked at the back of the novel and stunned. There was a picture, picture of the man he had met in the park.

"He is..."

"Surprise huh?" Amano asked. "No one would think that the novelist is a guy."

So he was a novelist, at last that explained why he made such a comment about Shuichi's lyrics. But that didn't mean he had a right to insult him.

"How much?"

"Eh?!?"

"I asked you how much the price of this novel Amano-san?" He answered in mild annoyance.

A big smile appeared in Amano's face, "So now you're going to buy this kind of novel?" he teased him.

"........."

"Take it with you," Amano suddenly said.

"What?" Shuichi stared at him in confusion.

"Who knows after you read it you're going to buy all of his novels," he teased him again.

But Shuichi said thanks and walked home. Maiko wasn't home yet and he was grateful for that – he couldn't imagine what her sister would say if she found out he read a romance novel.

Shuichi pondered what had possessed him to read this, and the answer he came into was his annoyance to the man. Of course, what was else?

He decided to drop the matter and started to read the novel. After read it he decided the story actually was not bad even (it's good, not that he would admit it) with the tragic ending – he could understand now why women liked to read it – although it still wasn't Shuichi's taste. Where you could find a man who liked to read romance novel anyway?

He threw the book away and reached for his laptop, he wanted to type his new song. Suddenly a new idea appeared on his mind and he opened the search engine and typed Y-U-K-I E-I-R-I then clicked search. Even as he doing it his mind screaming, w_hy am I doing this?_ Shuichi didn't know but...he felt he had this kind strange interest about this Yuki Eiri guy.

Some sites appeared on the screen. Shuichi opened one he thought interesting. But his eyes were almost bugged out when he saw what was written there.

_ The most famous novelist Uesugi Eiri, known as Yuki Eiri has been writing since... and his novels are always sold out..._

He stared at the laptop's screen. "That is impossible!" he said weakly. But wait...at least that explain why they had the same golden eyes...the same blonde hair... but...but...she said he was already...

Thousand of questions swirled in Shuichi's mind. So...She lied to him! It was Shuichi's final conclusion. But why? Seemed he had to pay a visit to her... and she had to explain what actually happened years ago.

Author's Note:

Hehe...the next will tell about Eiri and Shuichi's past. This fic is not AU anyway, about the story I already made the story line for every chapter till the ending. I will skip some part of the anime, if I re-write all of it; it will take a long time and ruin the story. And thanks to all of the reviewers.


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